Funny how just the discussion gets some peoples panties all bunched up.

I just received my Italian made M9A3 and the very same barrel alignment issue made my initial reaction to the gun quite skeptical. Beretta sells as this top shelf manufacturer, wherever you see the logo advertised the backdrop is sure to be some beautiful side by side double with spotless blueing and gold inlay so when I took my new firearm out and the attention to detail was shoddy i was a little more than disappointed.

I don't live in the States so acquiring the firearm that fits your requirements is not as simple as picking one off the local shelf. My gun came available on the other side of the country and while i waited (six months or so) for my license i was unable to so much as take it out of the box.

As an ex machinist i picked up the manufacturing defects pretty quickly and i may have a better understanding than most as to how things effect function and wear on a steel on steel assembly. Honestly i was disappointed. Thankfully the worst finish by far was the locking block so that was an easy fix to try. Our importer got back to me after i requested a new one from my dealer and sent me a new one for free which i must applaud.

So did it fix the issue? (The answer we would expect to come across when we find a thread dedicated to the subject... Thanks to guys like Genorogers and Pedropcola for shutting the conversation down!) Not really. The situation improved a little, barrel is no longer riding hard against the right of the slide mouth but there is still a stubborn bias. It did fix the issue of the guide-rod hanging up on the frame during assembly. I've fired a few boxes of ammo through it, my grouping is coming together but it's not great, i can do better with a gen1 CZ75. That might be the grip though, thought the wrap around felt more comfortable but i've been struggling to get a consistent hand placement from draw with them so i've put the Vertec back on. No ammo right now to burn, maybe i'll comment again after my next league. It does not appear to bias the group off though which i do find quite strange because the barrel and sights are not at all aligned the way one would assume the firearm was designed.

As for the QC. Before i got my replacement part i found and purchased a Z88 locking block made by Denel, the difference in build quality between this and either of the Beretta parts is night and day, there is not a single machining mark on the thing, it looks like a product i would release if i were making those parts. The unfortunate side to this is that while it does fit nicely on the barrel, the assembly does not fit in the firearm, Dimensions on the lower part of the block are a few hundredths wider than the M9A3 and so i cant use it without modification.

In my opinion Beretta could stand to get their act together. I could do better given the facilities and tooling and i'm by no means a pro. Maybe they've let QC fall by the wayside in favour of numbers but that is sure to generate more stories like this. Sorry if it ruffles feathers but the truth aught to i guess.

Oh brother. Necropost much?

Let’s get this straight? You are complaining about machining marks on the locking block? You bought an aftermarket locking block and it is brilliant in its fit and finish? Well kudos to you for discovering an aftermarket for locking blocks. Lol. Except it doesn’t fit the gun. That right there is funny. How about this for a solution? Put the Beretta OEM machining marks locking block back in (where it fits) and shoot the gun? Tell us how that horrible locking block didn’t work, gun constantly malfunctioned, and accuracy was for shit.

You guys really need to shoot more and type less. I don’t give a hoot where you live, if you don’t like the looks of the product send it back, don’t buy it, don’t do the transfer, whatever you don’t do wherever you come from.

These threads all have the same commonalities. “I didn’t notice.... until I got home”. “I haven’t shot it yet”. “I’m unhappy and this is my sad face and no I still haven’t shot it”

My last Gallatin 92 cost 679. It’s got machining marks. Contrary to your post and your “expertise” these marks don’t have any effect on how the gun shoots. At all.

It won’t feed correctly when I hand cycle it. The mags bind up when I try to unload them. The barrel gap is atrocious. How did it shoot. “I don’t know yet”. Ugh

Maybe you didn't read and in your haste you missed the fact that i am actually a fairly experienced machinist. "Marks" are not marks. "Marks are signs of tooling that is incorrectly set, getting blunt, running too fast or cutting material that they are not profiled for.

But no, i wasn't complaining about marks, i think an assembly that lines up poorly under visual examination is symptomatic of production issues that are being left unchecked and a company with a prestigious history like Beretta can do better. If i can see that my firearm was not built with care how can i trust it and how will i represent them in the future?

Also, there is no "don't do the transfer" after a six month wait for a license and i have shot it. I shoot it better than anyone else who has shot it but i still don't/can't shoot it as well as the 30 year old worn out gen1 gun that i learned on and so i'm still not sure how tight the groups could possibly get.

Also, on the "necroposting" issue.

Do you know how frustrating it is to fish through threads looking for answers where the posters have similar issues to yours but fail to give feedback once resolved?

I come bearing clarity where OP has left none, probably due to your aggressive condescension. Why so angry?

Oh you made your experience quite clear. My disdain is that you think they affect the operation of the gun. You were so smart to remove that nasty looking OEM locking block with a beautifully machined one. That doesn’t fucking fit. Brilliant.

Like I said shoot more, type less, or in your case go machine brilliant parts to guns that don’t fit them but appeal to the aesthetic rather than the practical.

Angry? What are you a child? I disagree with your entire post. Anger isn’t the emotion you are witnessing. Frustration with people who think a machine mark on the slide is somehow going to alter the firearms practicality yet they still purchased it. Why? If it’s defective to your eye, don’t buy it. That would have the effect on Beretta you desire I suspect.

How does your gun shoot? Let’s start there. Accurate? Reliable? Shoot to POA? Anything? Tool marks, yea got it. Don’t like the perfectly functional locking block. Ok. You could do better. Gotcha. I guess you just have to go back 500 years in time and become part of the genealogy. Easy enough.

TL;DR.

But the locking block is not visible when the gun is assembled, so who really cares?

The barrel alignment issues have plagued the Beretta 92 forever but the gun still fires fine.

I've had four 92s over the years and the only one that fits centered is my Brig with a barrel from a 1989 92FS which when in the 92FS was off center.

My my you are really an unpleasant little man aren't you?

The thread is about Berettas with badly aligned barrels. The locking block issue was approached here before where again, you spilled bile all over the conversation as if that is what this kind of thread is for. I have answered the question raised: Does changing the locking lug fix the issue and in doing so have actually added value to the conversation. The Shoddy machine work was just part of the justification to change out the lug in the first place. I wasn't appealing to the aesthetic and i've quite obviously used the replacement OEM part to some effect WHICH YOU MIGHT KNOW IF YOU'D BOTHERED TO READ instead of waiting for a chance to bash someone.

What have you added? What do you ever add because judging from the fact that your tone remains the same as when you posted a year and a half ago it seems you're just here to be a nasty little troll.

Here’s some value for you. Nothing tried yet consistently fixes your “issue”. Beretta says it’s normal. That is on page 1. They basically say that where the barrel lines up could be anywhere because of the design. So people spend a bunch of time and effort to correct something that is inherent in the design. All from the manufacturers mouth. The good news is that is also has ZERO impact on the guns performance. Zero.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pedropcola,